October Ice
by Sandileina
Summary: Sanada loses a bet, and has to pay the consequences. A series of oneshots based around the Tango Pair.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I only own this fic. I don't own any of the characters in it, damnit!

**Rating: **PG, or something?

**Warnings: **Shounen-ai, Sanada torture :o

**Summary: **Sanada loses a bet, and has to pay the consequence. Sixth in the Rikkai drabblethings series.

**Author's notes: **Happy birthday, Linc! And Atobe too, but I'll probably do a separate fic for him at the weekend. :)

If you don't like it, Linc, I'm sorry! Let me know and I'll let you request a fic for Atobe's birthday as a late birthday present xDD

**Times of Stress**

**Passing the Time**

**How to ask out Marui Bunta**

**Four Days Later**

**October Ice **

**Because I Love You**

I'd advise you to read the ones that come before this first, but it's not necessary. It just might make things a bit clearer/better/or something. And, oh my god, I know that I'm crap at titling fics. -.-; I need someone to name them for me… xD –Looks at Linc-

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The entire tennis club had turned up.

Of course, most of them were hiding. The only tennis club members actually in sight were the Regulars. They were hiding because they knew that if they were caught, there'd be some serious repercussions. Quite possibly life-threatening. So they had hidden as well as they could on the RikkaiDai tennis courts.

There was no way in hell they were going to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

After all, they may never get another chance to see Sanada Genichiroh, the esteemed vice-captain, proud and proper as anyone they knew, reduced to mere humanity.

The Regular members were all gathered around in a vague circle with varying expressions on their faces. Predictably, Yukimura was looking amused, Marui was wearing an expression of absolute glee, and Yagyuu was looking as indifferent as ever. Akaya was practically hugging himself in delight, clinging onto Marui's hand and fidgeting madly. Yanagi had his notebook ready, and was already scribbling away in that incomprehensible shorthand that Akaya always swore Yanagi had invented, and Jackal was trying his hardest to look sensible, but deeply buried mischief was starting to come to the surface.

As for Niou… Well, he just looked evil.

As Sanada looked around at his teammates, he felt a wave of hopeless despair wash over him. This was exactly the reason he wasn't a betting man! And to have made a bet with the Trickster, of _all_ people…

"Can't I just…" he began, sounding unusually meek.

"No!" Marui said immediately, grinning. "You lost the bet, fukubuchou. Honour dictates that you go through with this."

Sanada turned pleading eyes to Yukimura, but the only person who might have sided with him just happened to be in a mood to be entertained today. All Sanada got from him was a raised eyebrow, and a, "You did lose the bet, Genichiroh."

"What's going on?" one of the hiding club members whispered from behind a bush.

His friend turned to him in surprise. "You don't know?"

"No. I was ill yesterday, remember? What's all this about fukubuchou losing a bet?"

The boy grinned. "Ah, well, you're lucky you're not ill today. Basically, at tennis practice yesterday, Niou-senpai was ten minutes late for practice because… well, he said that he'd decided to 'take the scenic route', which probably means he'd stayed behind after class to torment one of the teachers. So of course he was assigned laps. He complained because fukubuchou had already made him run extra laps that morning for dropping the ball basket, and they argued for like, twenty minutes. It was pretty spectacular. Then Niou-senpai said that he'd make a bet with fukubuchou. If he lost the bet, then he'd run the laps, but if fukubuchou lost then he'd have to do some sort of forfeit that Niou-senpai said he'd think up later."

"What kind of bet was it?" the second year asked, fascinated.

"That Niou-senpai could beat Yukimura-buchou in a game of tennis, playing with his right hand."

"That's impossible! Even if Niou-senpai was using his left hand, he'd still have a _lot_ of trouble beating buchou."

"Well, yeah, that's what fukubuchou said. And Niou-senpai went, 'So take the bet, then. Or don't you have faith in 'Mura's abilities?'"

"Ouch."

"Yeah. You should have seen the way fukubuchou bristled. So of course he agrees, and they go off to find Yukimura-buchou."

"Then? What happened?"

He was shushed as everyone around them strained to hear what the Regulars were saying.

Marui was cackling, and Akaya was on the floor in a ball, tears of laughter in his eyes.

"What just happened?" one of the third-years asked.

"I dunno, I couldn't hear… Niou-senpai must've named the forfeit."

"What was it?"

"I don't know. Shut up, maybe we'll hear!"

Sanada was looking absolutely horrified. It was obvious that he was wishing the ground would open up and swallow him. Although, since Yukimura was standing right next to him, maybe not, since it would mean that he'd get swallowed up too.

"So come on, then," Niou was saying.

"What song is this?" Yanagi asked, looking puzzled.

Marui tried to answer for Niou, but he couldn't form a coherent sentence through his hysterical laughter.

"Ah, well, you'll see," was all the Trickster said when the rest of the team turned inquiring eyes to him. Only he, Marui, Akaya and the mortified Sanada seemed to know what was going on.

"What happened? What does he have to do?" was the general theme of the whispers going along the watching members. It reached someone who'd actually heard, and the message was swiftly passed down.

"Niou said, 'You have to sing the song Marui found the other day'," was the message.

"What if I refuse?" Sanada asked. He literally looked frightened to them. It was such a unique sight that some of the members wondered if he wasn't just experiencing indigestion.

"You _can't_ refuse. That's what you have to do for losing the bet," Yagyuu pointed out. Sanada didn't even muster up the energy to glare at him.

"It can't be that bad," said Yukimura reasonably. "You're a good singer."

"How d'you know that?" Jackal asked.

"Oh, he sang my little sister to sleep a few weeks ago."

Sanada looked pained. The watching members sniggered, but shut up quickly when Niou glanced behind him, looking a little puzzled. He must have decided that it was just the wind or something, because he turned back again a few seconds later.

"See? Mura says you're a good singer," he said. "So come on. Do you need the words?"

Sanada shook his head minutely. He was flushed bright red.

"Ah, got it memorised, have you?" Niou smirked.

"Come on, Genichiroh," Yanagi said. "The sooner you start, the sooner it's over with. I've never heard you sing before."

Niou's smirk deepened another few shades of evil. "If you don't start within the next five seconds - well, actually, I'll make it ten because I'm in a good mood right now – then I'll tell everyone why exactly you wrote the song in the first place."

Sanada opened his mouth to protest, but no sound came out. He continued to open and shut his mouth for a few seconds like a goldfish out of water.

"Oh, you wrote it yourself?" Yagyuu said innocently. A tiny strangled noise issued from Sanada's throat.

At the sight of their fukubuchou so helplessly at the mercy of the sadistic Trickster, Akaya was starting to turn blue from lack of air. Several of the hidden members fumbled with mobile phones and the like, desperate to catch such a historic moment.

"Four, three, two…" Niou drawled. "Aaand… Go!"

Sanada almost didn't start in time. But his vocal chords finally seemed to decide to work and, starting almost inaudibly but getting gradually clearer, he started singing in a smooth baritone that, amazingly, wasn't half bad. Those watching held their breath.

"… The river will always flow to the sea

Forever and for eternity

The leaves renewed with spring green

And still the waters go on…

The river will always keep running

Crystal blue and sailing

The leaves changing red with autumn

And still the waters go on…

One lifetime is eternity

For people like you and me

You are Ice's ruler

And the river might stop for you.

I've seen your eyes like moonlight

And I've seen them filled with tears

I see them in my dreams…

Love is like a river

And still the waters go on…"

There was absolute silence for several seconds.

Then Marui completely broke the mood by falling back into hysterical laughter.

_Thwap_. Marui yelped with pain and stared in shock at Yukimura, who'd hit him sharply across the side of his head. The captain was frowning severely at him.

"Don't laugh, Bunta. It was a lovely song."

"I wasn't laughing at the song!" Marui protested, holding his head dramatically. "I was laughing at fukubuchou singing!"

He got another cuff on the head from Yukimura, and flopped down to sulk on the ground, burying his head moodily into Akaya's neck.

"You have… an interesting little talent there for song writing," Jackal commented. "I'd never have expected you to write a love song."

"Who's it for?" Yagyuu asked.

Niou gave his doubles partner an incredulous look. "Can't you tell from the song?" he asked. "It's pretty obvious, Hiroshi."

"I'm afraid I'm not quite as good as some at deciphering hints in lyrics," Yagyuu answered dryly.

"The song's called October Ice," Akaya piped up helpfully.

"Ice… Wait a minute…" Enlightenment dawned on Yagyuu's face, as well as that of a couple of the other Regulars. "Surely not, Sanada."

The poor boy had lost the use of his voice box again. He looked like he was seconds away from abandoning the last shreds of his dignity and fleeing. Luckily (or not), Niou answered for him.

"Well done, Hiroshi." A sly smirk. "It's his birthday present, ne fukubuchou? One of them, anyway." He added a lecherous wink. "Honestly, I have no idea why you didn't tell us about this interesting development in your love life sooner. Mura knew, didn't you?" he asked, turning to the smiling captain, who nodded.

"Genichiroh asked me to keep it a secret," he said.

"Wait a minute, I'm lost," Jackal confessed. "Is the song for Atobe?"

"_Atobe_?"

The voice didn't belong to any of the Regulars. Looking as though Christmas had come early, Niou tilted his head to the side and said, "Oh, I _thought_ I heard some people whispering. Come out, everyone, it's not nice to spy on people without them knowing."

That was it. Dignity be damned; the non-regulars had heard and it'd be all over the school by tomorrow. Spinning on his heel Sanada made a break for it, and didn't reappear in school until two days later. It came as no surprise when the first thing he did upon his return was to issue Niou, Marui and Kirihara with two hundred laps each.

And he issued an unofficial rule which meant that every time he heard someone singing the tune to 'October Ice' or saying the title, he would give the entire club a hundred laps.

Of course, he still heard it several times a week. It was well worth running a hundred laps to see the bright red flush sprint across his face.

In fact, Sanada didn't get rid of the whole thing until Yukimura actually threatened to kick people out of the club altogether. That worked until a certain Trickster managed to acquire some very interesting photographs.

But that's another story, ne?

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Sandy: -falls over- Phew, I thought I wasn't gonna get it finished in time. :)

The song is actually one that a very sweet friend of mine wrote for his own boyfriend. I changed it a little bit to suit the fic, but that's where it's from originally.

Again, Happy Birthday, Linc! You special girl you –hugs-

If anyone has a birthday coming up, feel free to drop me a line and request a birthday fic. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to do it, but if I have the time and the energy then I'll try my best. :D

Please review and make my day. –cheesy smile-

Until next time!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **The Rikkai drabblethings are mine. The characters are not. ;.;

**Rating: **PG?

**Warnings: **Shounen-ai, fluff, Niou

**Chapter summary: **When life kicks you in the head, then chocolate, tennis and Atobe are the only things that can cure the headache.

**Author's notes: **For **Linc**, because she's just such a darling. ;D

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Atobe had absolutely no idea what was going on. There was this guy, who'd done something terrible, only you weren't supposed to know what it was yet although it was pretty obvious that _he_ was the murderer, and the girl seemed to be having some sort of issue with her possessive boyfriend (boy, did _that_ sound familiar), and her mother was in the hospital from some sort of food poisoning, but the guy was being all supportive and nice…

It was inane. And pointless.

Atobe switched off the television and vowed never to watch another ridiculous American soap opera again. What was wrong with the people in that country? Honestly.

_Ding-dong-dong-dong…Ding-dong-dong-DONG…_

Ah. The doorbell.

Atobe heard the discreet footsteps of one of the maids going to get the front door, and yawned. God, he was bored; it was his _birthday_, for crying out loud, and he was stuck in bed with a crazy ear infection that completely robbed him of his balance. It was so unfair.

A quiet knock came at his bedroom door. Atobe rolled his eyes and said loftily, "I don't want to see anyone, Chie-chan, so…"

The door opened a fraction, and a head peered round it.

Immediately, Atobe's expression changed into a mock-haughty scowl., and he flopped back dramatically onto his little pile of pillows. "And just where have _you_ been?" he demanded. "I was starting to think you'd gone back to your crush on Yukimura in my absence."

Sanada closed the door quietly behind him and made his way over to the bed, sitting down on the side and looking apologetic. "I'm sorry, Kei," he said. "I was busy. With… with your birthday present. You know I'd never be unfaithful to you," he added, slightly indignantly.

"Humph, well," Atobe shrugged, shutting his eyes. A gentle smile shined from Sanada's eyes at the little pout his boyfriend was showing. The pout didn't last for long though, and Atobe opened one eye. "Present, hmm? What present is this?" he asked, trying to sound uninterested.

In answer, Sanada pulled out a little square parcel from his pocket, handing it almost shyly to Atobe. "I don't know if you'll like it much," he murmured at the ground. "You're difficult to get presents for."

"Well, forgive me for being born to the Atobe family," snorted the boy, delicately opening the present. And failing.

"Ear infection's gotten to your hand-eye coordination too, hmm?" Sanada commented, reaching over. "Here, let me-"

"No," Atobe said firmly, tugging it out of reach. "It's my present, and I'm the one who'll be opening it, thank you very much."

"Independence is all very well and good," Sanada started to say, but he was cut off again.

"I'm _not_ going to beaten by some ridiculous little _germ_," Atobe scowled, glaring. "My pride is at stake here, Genichiroh."

Sanada gave in, trying not to smile as Atobe attacked the wrapping paper with renewed vigour. He managed to get it off in the end, rather more ungracefully than he probably would have liked, but finally he triumphantly brandished a plain CD case.

"Thought you could get the better of me, aa-hn?" he said smugly to the shreds of paper on his bed.

"I think its dead," Sanada commented dryly. "You managed to kill it."

"Mission accomplished." Atobe opened the CD case and peered inside, taking out a blank cd and squinting at it.

"Try putting it in the CD player," said Sanada, failing to hide a smile. Atobe was always like this when he was bedridden; it was as though the constant touch of a pillow robbed him of his maturity and reduced him to a child.

"I _know_ that," said Atobe firmly. He held out the disc to Sanada. "Make yourself useful and put it in," he instructed. Sanada did so and returned to the bed, starting to look a bit embarrassed.

"It's-" he began, but Atobe shushed him as a quiet piano started to play.

"… The river will always flow to the sea

Forever and for eternity

The leaves renewed with spring green

And still the waters go on…

The river will always keep running

Crystal blue and sailing

The leaves changing red with autumn

And still the waters go on…

One lifetime is eternity

For people like you and me

You are Ice's ruler

And the river might stop for you.

I've seen your eyes like moonlight

And I've seen them filled with tears

I see them in my dreams…

Love is like a river

And still the waters go on…"

The piano kept on playing, and after a short while it finished with a graceful chord.

Atobe looked a little blank. "I didn't know you could sing, aa-hn?" was his only comment, and Sanada flushed, completely embarrassed.

"It's not the best present," he muttered. "I didn't-" His eyes widened as he was cut off by a smooth, gentle kiss.

"It was beautiful," Atobe murmured against his lips. "Very unusual. Did you write it yourself?"

Sanada nodded sheepishly. He felt Atobe grin against him and tentatively kissed him again, trying to convey all the affection he held for the boy in front of him. It must have worked, because Atobe made a pleased little sound in the back of his throat and pulled him forwards to lie next to him. They broke the kiss and Atobe efficiently tugged Sanada under the covers, pawing demandingly at his arm until Sanada tucked it around him with a small smile.

"Demanding," he teased quietly, his free hand petting Atobe's hair like a kitten.

Atobe shrugged with a smirk. "I know what I like and I like to get it," he said smugly.

"Hmm."

Sanada wouldn't have been nearly so content if he'd been able to see what was happening just outside the window.

"Perfect," Niou whispered to himself, shutting down his digital camera. "Marui's gonna have a fit when he sees fukubuchou being all snuggly. Fantastic blackmail material." He eyed Sanada through the window and smirked darkly. "Nothing personal," he whispered, as though Sanada could hear him. "But a guy's gotta have his entertainment, yes?"

The tennis club members were all baffled when they found out Niou was completely excused from running extra laps. But they found out the reason why anyway when Niou published an adorable picture of a certain couple cuddling in the school magazine, despite his promises not to. The resulting storm of chaos was worth having to run all the laps he'd missed out on. It was Sanada's own fault for believing one of Niou's promises. He was only delaying the inevitable.

Atobe found it all highly amusing, and went so far as to get a copy of the photo from Niou and frame it.

Sanada sometimes wondered what he'd done wrong in a previous life. Yukimura suggested that he might have been a serial killer that went around strangling babies and then feeding them to the devil, who he'd promised his soul to in order to obtain immeasurable baby-killing powers. Sanada wished that someone would take him seriously, please.

Well, as Niou said, it was his own fault for being so serious. Life's little joke.

Never mind. Chocolate, tennis and Atobe solved all of life's problems.

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Sandy: Yeah… Still not good at writing fluff… -winces-

Anyway, if you liked it, then please, please review! It lets me know whether it's worth continuing to write these. :o LOL It'll take up a few seconds of your life, sure, but this fic took up quite a bit more than that, so… -looks hopeful- please?

See you tomorrow for the next chapter of my AU:)


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **The Rikkai drabblethings are mine. The characters are not. ;.;

**Rating: **PG?

**Warnings: **Mention of shounen-ai, mild language once or twice

**Chapter summary: **Hyoutei's reaction to Atobe's announcement about himself and Sanada, and lots of Hiyoshi introspection.

**Author's notes: **For the lovely people who reviewed the last chapter of October Ice. ;) Here's something to show my appreciation for your encouraging reviews! Also, you have **FuFuFuji** to thank for me writing a totally Hyoutei-centric chapter. $.$

Special thanks to **Dark Angelus **for asking the question that sparked this. ;p

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"What?"

"Atobe's dating Sanada."

"What?"

"Atobe's dating Sanada."

"What?"

"Atobe's dating Sanada."

"What?"

"Shut up, you two!" Shishido finally yelled, exasperated beyond restraint. "You're doing that on purpose!"

"But… what?"

"I don't think he's doing it on purpose, Shishido-san," Ohtori offered tentatively. "He looks honestly bewildered to me."

Shishido snorted disbelievingly. "Yeah right. Even Gakuto's not that thick."

There was a muffled squeak. "S-Sanada? Atobe? Sanada?"

"Yes, Gakuto," Oshitari said soothingly. "You're finally getting it, I see."

"… What?"

Shishido threw his books down onto the table in aggravated frustration and stormed out, followed by a resigned Choutaroh, who'd promised his senpai-tachi that he'd try and control Shishido's frequent displays of temper.

"That, that… that!" Shishido growled, unable to find sufficient words. "He's been doing that for an _hour_!! Why is it so hard for him to take it in? It's not like Atobe's dating _Tezuka_, for crying out loud. I bet he'd just doing it on purpose for the attention."

Choutaroh chuckled a little. "Well, even you were thrown at first, Shishido-san," he said.

"Well, yeah," Shishido admitted, "but it's not really all that surprising when you really think about it." He was calming down now that he was out of earshot of the offending teammate. "I mean, he never tried to hide it or anything. We all just assumed he had a thing for Akutagawa."

"Jirou-senpai's straight," Choutaroh pointed out for the hundredth time.

"I don't believe him when he says that. He has to be at least bi."

"Shishido-san," said the silver-haired junior, uncomfortable with the topic of conversation.

"Alright, alright. I'll go back to the clubhouse and get my books, then we'll head home. If Gakuto's still doing his 'what?' thing I'll bloody kick him out the window."

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Hiyoshi Wakashi stared unseeingly out of the window, ears hearing but not registering the noises around him; the tapping of a classmate's pencil, the scratch of pens against paper, the occasional creak of a chair.

Honestly? He was bored. Bored as a bored thing that had just won the world championship for boredom.

He was serving detention for something he hadn't even done. He'd been framed, but the teacher had refused to listen to his protests. He resented it, but comforted himself with the thought that after this, it would be the weekend.

Hiyoshi caught sight of Shishido and Ohtori coming around the corner, probably from the direction of the clubhouse. Shishido looked like he was in a worse temper than normal, and Ohtori had the same look of general patience that he tended to wear around the volatile brunette. If he squinted, Hiyoshi found, he could just about lipread some of Shishido's words. But he gave up after he caught the words 'Atobe' and 'dating'. No prizes for guessing what they were talking about.

It had been two days since their buchou had casually announced that he and Rikkai Daigaku's Sanada had been dating for over a month now. He'd flourished a framed photograph of himself and Sanada snuggled in bed together, Sanada apparently asleep, both of them looking as contented as could be.

He'd done it right before practice, the bastard, and no-one could concentrate properly. Except, of course, for Atobe, who used to opportunity to show off even more than he usually did.

To be honest, Hiyoshi had to say that he couldn't really care less what Atobe was doing in his spare time. It wasn't any concern of his. He couldn't understand why some of the other Regulars were taking it so personally.

Like Shishido, for instance. He might act like he didn't really care, but it was pretty obvious that it bothered him more than he let on. It surely couldn't be that it bothered him because Atobe and Sanada were both male; that would be extremely hypocritical, considering he and Ohtori had been involved for nearly a year. Gakuto, too, had only heard the news today because he'd missed yesterday's practice. And he'd been shell-shocked to the point that Sakaki-sensei had let him be excused from practice, which Hiyoshi considered pretty pathetic.

Oshitari had been surprised, but he'd taken the news with a small smirk and had patted Atobe on the shoulder in a congratulatory fashion. Kabaji had been as emotionless as ever; although, come to think of it, Hiyoshi wouldn't be surprised if the huge junior had known as soon as the two had started going out. Probably hadn't batted an eyelid.

Jirou had been nearly as flabbergasted as Gakuto was today, gaping at Atobe and going, "Why? Sanada? What? But why?" until the annoyed boy had clouted him over the head to shut him up. He fell asleep shortly after, narcolepsy taking over again, and when he woke up he'd said that as long as Atobe didn't bring in any more of those photos, it was perfectly fine with him.

And really, Hiyoshi didn't care what the other tennis club members had thought, so he hadn't bothered to find out.

It did make him wonder, though, what on earth Atobe saw in the stoic boy. As far as Hiyoshi could tell, he wasn't entertaining, didn't seem to have a sense of humour, wasn't all that incredibly good-looking, was too uptight, uncaring, disturbingly attached to Yukimura-san, and downright scary when he yelled at anyone. No, Hiyoshi had no idea why Atobe seemed so fond of Sanada at all.

Still, it was Atobe's choice, after all. And, surely, there must be _some_ redeeming feature that had kept Atobe with Sanada for over a month. Generally Atobe would get bored of a relationship after a week, or even a few days. Granted, most of those 'relationships' had been with girls, but still.

Sanada had come to Hyoutei's gates once to pick up Atobe. Two, maybe three weeks ago. Hiyoshi hadn't registered it at the time, but now that he thought back on it, he could vaguely remember the affection glowing from Sanada's dark eyes at the slightly shorter boy. And although he'd been his usual self as ever, Atobe might have been just a little softer, a little less pretentious, a little more like his true self as he greeted Sanada at the gate.

Personally, Hiyoshi didn't really believe that True Love with a capital T and L existed. Not the kind they wrote about in books and in films, anyway. But as sensible and down to earth as he was, the junior couldn't help but think that maybe that kind of obvious affection and love was more than good enough. He could still see a million and one ways for the relationship to go wrong, but if Sanada had been able to keep Atobe this long, perhaps it was set for the long-term. Doubtful, but possible.

The bell suddenly ran, startling him out of his thoughts. He got up thankfully, pulling his bag over his shoulder and heading out of the classroom, bowing shortly as he passed the teacher.

"Hey, Hiyoshi!"

Hiyoshi turned to see one of his best friends hurrying up the corridor towards him, smiling. "Hey," he said.

His friend, Suzuki Katsura, caught up and fell into step beside him, patting him on the head as he always did. "You wanna come over?" he asked. "Okaa-san's looking after her friend's cats for the weekend. You'd like 'em."

"Sure," Hiyoshi nodded, pleased. "What kind of cats are they?"

"No idea. But one of them's black and white and the other one's tortoiseshell. Dead cute."

Hiyoshi and Katsura continued to discuss cats as they headed out of Hyoutei Gakuen's grounds, Hiyoshi enormously looking forward to seeing the cats, all introspective thoughts of Atobe and Sanada and love fading from his mind for the weekend.

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Sandy: Eh heh… 6-6;; LOL My first attempt at writing the Hyoutei boys properly. Let me know what you think? Please? All questions, comments, etc fully appreciated. You'll make my life brighter by leaving a review ;p So please take the few seconds to do so.

Jaa, ne!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **The Rikkai drabblethings are mine. The characters are not. ;.;

**Rating: **PG? G?

**Warnings: **Shounen-ai/yaoi, fluff so fluffy it might drown you o.0;;

**Chapter summary: **Sanada and Atobe play the 'I Love' game. Fluff, fluff, and more fluff -.-;;

**Author's notes: **For the lovely people who reviewed the last chapter of October Ice. ;) Namely: **Linc **(Nuuuuh, I never know whether to call you Linc or Animesque when I mention you in my AN…), **Toh Sock, KiriharaAkaya, Merissala, Ulat Bulu **(LOL I try my best ;p), **Stranger12, Pikke Wood **and **Jomai**. Thank you all!

Oh, and from now on (unless I say otherwise in my AN), everything Tango Pair is dedicated to **Linc**. May her obssessiveness and sheer insanity never be sated. ;) Happy now, my patched kitty?

Takes place at the same time as Operation: Christmas Party, just so you know.

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The cold winds of December blew down the streets of Tokyo. The people unfortunate enough to be outside were wrapped up as warmly as they could. Scarves, hats and gloves were to be seen everywhere.

But Atobe Keigo, of course, was snug and warm in his favourite livingroom (there were six of them, after all) in front of a blazing fireplace which gave the room an extremely cosy, cheerful winter glow.

He was, in fact, currently tucked into a nest of blankets with his boyfriend, Sanada Genichiroh. If he'd been a cat, Atobe would have been purring.

He was warm. He was comfortable. He was full of some strange European soup that had consisted largely of carrots. And he'd managed to manouver the conversation into the ego-stroking game of 'I Love', which was in full swing. Oh yes, life wasn't too shabby at all.

"I love how completely out of it you look first thing in the morning," said Sanada thoughtfully, the firelight playing off his dark hair. His cap was downstairs with his shoes, naturally, at Atobe's insistance. He hated that damn cap. In his not-so-humble opinion, his Genichiroh shouldn't wear such a ridiculous-looking thing at all.

"I love… your songwriting capabilities," Atobe snickered, rewarded with a half-hearted cringe from Sanada.

"I love your natural grace," Sanada said quickly, dragging the game to safer areas.

Atobe preened and said, "I love yours, then."

"That's cheating," Sanada pointed out lazily – it was probably one of the only times when he was ever less than a perfectionist. Even so, he was a stickler for the rules.

"Che," Atobe snorted, but said, "Fine, fine, I love… I love how you can never beat me at chess."

"I love how you can hardly ever beat me at Shougi," Sanada countered neatly, a tiny smile quirking his lips as Atobe mock-pouted.

Atobe let it pass after it became clear that Sanada was fondly admiring his pout rather than feeling bad about it. "I love how you always pretend not to notice when Kirihara steals cookies from your kitchen."

He felt Sanada stiffen, and bit back a laugh.

"Don't you _dare_ tell him," he growled. "It makes Yukimura laugh when Akaya manages to 'steal' them."

"Yes, yes, alright. I might need some persuading though, ahh-n…?" Atobe licked his lips suggestively.

Sanada chuckled softly, relaxed once more. "Later, Kei. I'm too comfortable right now."

"Hmm, fine. It's your turn anyways."

Amused, Sanada thought a moment then said, "I love your eyes when… well, just in general."

"Mm. I love how quickly you picked up the tango. And the flamenco. And the waltzes, although those are easy…"

"I love how easy it was for you to teach me. Even if you got frustrated too easily."

"Oi, oi, compliments only. I love… I love it when you laugh."

"I love it when you scowl."

"I love how ridiculously insecure you get when I flirt with other people."

Sanada eyed him suspiciously. "I'm not sure that that's a compliment."

"No?" Atobe tried out an innocent smile. He was getting better at them, but it still wasn't quite working. "Hmm, I think it's a compliment."

Sanada snorted but thought for a moment before saying, "I love your piano skills."

"I love how you talk in your sleep." Atobe looked pleased with himself when Sanada looks nonplussed.

"I talk in my sleep?" he said, a little worried. "What do I say?"

"Ah, well, that's the billion yen question, isn't it?" Atobe smirked. Sanada practically _whined_ soundlessly at him and Atobe relented with a slight chuckle. "Nothing important," he said reassuringly, "just, you know, the odd word comes up. I could have sworn I heard 'toast' last week."

Sanada blinked. "Last week? I didn't sleep over last week."

"No? Oh, my bad. Must have been the week before." Atobe's innocent expression really wasn't fooling anyone.

Sighing, Sanada sank further back into the pile of cuhions and blankets. "You've bugged my room again, haven't you."

"… Maybe…"

Sanada tucked an arm more firmly around Atobe's waist. "You're such a child."

"There is barely a five month difference between us, Gen-chin. You can't call me a child."

Again came the half-hearted wince. "Kei, don't call me that. Gen I can live with. Geni is tolerable. Gen-chin or Gen-chan is just…"

"Undignified?"

"At the risk of sounding like a spoilt lord, yes."

Atobe laughed. Sanada drowsily watched the mirth spring across his face and then settle slowly into a twinkle in those dark eyes. Atobe was… beautiful. He couldn't think of a better word. He knew that his boyfriend was very picky about being called anything that in any way implied that he was effeminate; when Sanada had made the mistake of calling him 'beautiful' the first time, he'd received a long, long rant about how being gay and happening to like purple did _not_ make him a girl, damnit, and don't you ever use that word again or I swear I'll break up with you. Sanada had been very careful about his choice of words ever since.

He didn't think that Atobe was effeminate. Not at all. He'd tried to explain that boys could be beautiful too, but of course, Atobe hadn't listened. So Sanada had kept that word for his own silent, private use.

"Oi, Gen? We should go to your house and pick up that book," Atobe said, pulling Sanada out of his thoughts.

"What book?" he asked, trying to remember.

Atobe snorted. "Your memory isn't the best in the world, is it? The cookery book! The one that has the recipe for peanut cookies. You promised to lend it to my chef, remember?"

"Oh, yes…" Sanada offered him a sheepish smile. "But can't we do that later? I'm not sure I have the willpower to move right now."

"Of course you do. Don't be ridiculous." Atobe sat up, shaking off Sanada's persistant hold. "You're the steel-willed fukubuchou of a brat, a sugar addict, a bald guy who yells 'fi-yah!!!' when he plays tennis seriously, a guy with a golf fetish, an insane sadist, and Yanagi Renji. Don't get me _started_ on him. You can summon up the will to take a quick ride in a limo to your house and back, ahh-n?"

Sanada sat up resignedly. "I suppose. And my team really isn't all that bad, you know," he added, feeling as though he should defend Yukimura's dysfunctional little family. "Akaya's gotten less bratty since he and Marui started dating. And Jackal… well, 'fire!' isn't the worst thing he could yell. He could yell 'baldness!' instead. Yagyuu doesn't have a golf fetish, he just likes golf, and Renji is really one of the most normal out of all of us once you get to know him. And Niou…" he paused. "Well, alright, you're right about him. But the rest of us aren't so bad."

"Mm, perhaps." Atobe pulled on a long coat made of white leather and started the trek for the front door. He pressed the button on his servant pager for the limo driver, and then put it back in his pocket. "Come on, Genichiroh."

"Yes, Kei."

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Sandy: Phew. That wasn't actually as bad as I thought it'd be. You've been spared from X!treme fluff this time round…

Oh, yeah, and before I forget; -chin is pretty much the same as -chan, except it's very, very childish.

If you liked it, then please review! If you didn't like it, then please leave a review saying why, so that I can take that on board. 3 Suggestions/hopeful hints are always more than welcome too! ;pp

Until next time!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **The Rikkai drabblethings are mine. The characters are not. ;.;

**Rating: **PG?

**Warnings: **Shounen-ai/yaoi, occasional mild language, angsty. With fluff.

**Chapter summary: **Happiness can't last forever. But maybe Sanada and Atobe can take out an extension.

**Author's notes: **For the lovely people who reviewed the last chapter of October Ice. ;) Namely: **Linc, Sheik's Lonely, Kirihara Akaya **(Did you know that the next Valentine Kiss is gonna be covered by Sanada:o I didn't until **Linc** told me), **Dark Angelus, Merissala, May-Linn **(I wish you had a account so I could reply to your lovely reviews ;.;), **Pikke Wood, Sodesne, Risa-chan, Ahotep **and **Toh Sock **(I wouldn't put it past him to have one in there…). I love you all. Tango Pair dedication to Linc, as ever!

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"I can't believe that."

"Listen, it doesn't change anything-"

"Doesn't change anything?! It changes everything!"

"Kei, I think you're being a bit overdramatic. We just-"

"Sanada Genichiroh, you _listen_ to me. I am not being overdramatic. I just can't believe that I heard what you just told me."

"Kei, it's not such a big thing, really… Kei? Keigo?"

Sanada stared at the phone. Atobe had hung up on him.

----------------------------------

"… Oh, yeah, and I also got engaged to a lettuce last night."

"Mm."

Sighing, Yukimura nudged his friend's arm. "You're not listening to me, are you."

"What? Sorry, I was just…" Sanada shrugged. "I'm tired. Sorry. What were you saying?"

"What's wrong?" Yukimura said instead, looking concerned. "I don't think I've ever seen you space out like you've been doing today."

Sanada was quiet for a moment, and then he opened his mouth as though to say something. But then he shut it again and shook his head. "It's just Atobe being Atobe," he said, and headed over to rearrange the incorrect grips of some of the first years.

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The clubhouse was empty save for the captain and one of his two best friends. They'd finished planning the practices for the next week, and were now sitting on a bench, discussing their other best friend in quiet but unhushed tones.

"Well, there's _something_ wrong, that's for sure," Yukimura said, leaning back against the white wall. "He hasn't called Atobe Atobe since they started going out."

"I think they're probably going through their first fight," Yanagi suggested. "I'm amazed they haven't had one yet. They've been dating for... well, exactly four months. Since the first of October. Considering Atobe's somewhat… volatile personality, it was unavoidable."

Yukimura didn't look convinced. "Maybe… well, I mean, they're probably going through their first proper fight, yes, but I think there's something more to it than that."

"Oh?"

"Mm." Yukimura didn't elaborate – Yanagi didn't need him to.

"Something, perhaps, to do with Genichiroh's parents both being at home at the same time for the first time since he and Atobe started going out?"

Yukimura gave a small, rueful nod. "I think Genichiroh might have ignored my advice and told them about his preferences."

"No, that can't be it," Yanagi shook his head. "They already know that he's bisexual."

Now Yukimura looked a little surprised. "Oh?"

"Yeah."

"Then… what do you think it is, Renji?"

There was a short pause, and then Yanagi gave a small shrug. "I have to say, I don't know. But I do think it's something to do with his parents."

"Can you try talking to him? I got the feeling he didn't want to talk to me about it." Yukimura managed successfully to keep the petty hurt out of his voice. Not that Yanagi didn't notice it anyway.

"If he won't talk to you, then he won't talk to me. I think we'll just have to wait this one out."

Yukimura didn't look happy. "No," he said decisively. "I'll talk to him tomorrow and find out what's going on. He can't keep it to himself; he won't be able to cope properly. Besides, we might be able to help, right?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I guess it's worth a try."

"Exactly. Come on, let's go home."

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"Ne, ne, ne," Jirou said, trying to whisper. He'd never quite grasped the concept of whispering. Apparently, he didn't see the point of it.

"What?" Oshitari asked, a little shortly. He was trying to work out how to do the damn Tsubame Gaeshi without the ball curving out of the court. It had taken him three weeks just to get the spin right, and now he couldn't make it go straight. It was irritating him no end, and Fuji wouldn't help him either, preferring to watch him fail and smile that little smile of his.

"What's wrong with Atobe? He's been acting all scowly the last coupla days. What's wrong with him?"

Less than twenty metres away, Atobe stiffened and turned to gift Jirou with a haughty glower. "There is nothing _wrong_ with me," he said coldly. "Nothing whatsoever. But _someone_ seems to think there is, apparently." He stalked off.

Oshitari and Gakuto exchanged glances, and then turned to Jirou. "Well?" they said simultaneously. Jirou nodded and bounded after the angry boy.

"Ne, ne, ne? What's wrong, Atobe? Did something happen?" he asked, trying to limit his on-the-spot bouncing to minimise annoyance. The rest of the Hyoutei team had long ago worked out that Jirou had the best chances of dragging secrets from Atobe, provided he didn't move too much.

"No."

"Something must've, otherwise you'd be all not sulky," Jirou pointed out.

"Ore-sama is not in the mood to talk to you," Atobe said coldly. "Go away."

"Who thinks there's something wrong with you?" he pressed. "Is it Sanada-kun?"

Atobe halted so fast that Jirou almost walked into him. He spun round and almost _snarled_ at the startled boy, "Yes, it bloody well is! I can't _believe_ what he _said_ to me! Me! His parents 'didn't take too kindly' to him telling them that I was his boyfriend, so he told them he'd break it off and asked me to keep our relationship a secret from now on! Can you believe that? There's nothing wrong with me! So why the _hell_ does he feel the need to keep us a secret rather than just tell his parents to let him live his own goddamn life?!"

Eyes wide, Jirou's mind struggled to process the fact that the angry, upset teenager in front of him was the same Ice Emperor he knew so well.

"Did they not know he was gay, then?" he ventured nervously.

"He's bisexual, actually, and yes, they knew," Atobe bit out. "They don't have a problem with it. It's just the fact that it's _me_. Why? What's wrong with me?" The last few words trailed off, losing the previous anger.

"There's nothing wrong with you!" Jirou insisted immediately, hands waving madly as he tried to put his point across. "You're amazing! I don't think it's got anything to do with you; just your family. That's not so bad, right?"

"I almost think that's worse," Atobe muttered. "Sure, my father's done some pretty controversial things over the years for his business, but I wasn't even _alive_ for some of them."

"Why don't you try talking to him again?" Jirou's hands dived into his pockets and fumbled around until he found his mobile phone, holding it out to Atobe. "Here. You can use my phone. Rikkai Daigaku should've finished school by now, right?"

"Yeah…" Atobe eyed the phone in silence, obviously torn. He suddenly shook his head. "No. I'll wait for him to call me. I doubt he'll come and see me; I'm a dirty little secret of his now, after all," he said bitterly.

Jirou practically stamped his foot. "You are _not_!" he protested. "Sanada-kun… his family probably mean a lot to him. He really cares about you! I'm sure he'll come knocking on your door to apologise, or at least talk stuff o… over…"

Taken unawares, Atobe only barely managed to catch Jirou as he fell, narcolepsy taking over. As it was, they both ended up on the ground, Atobe's leg twisting painfully. He pulled himself upright, arranging Jirou on the ground so that he'd be comfortable.

Jirou's strawberry blond hair fell over his eyes, and Atobe absentmindedly brushed it out again as he thought about what Jirou had said.

Maybe he was right. Maybe Atobe was just letting his pride get in the way again.

But, damnit, he had a _right_ to feel hurt!

Sighing quietly, Atobe forced his temper away. He'd talk to Genichiroh sometime tonight. It'd be sorted out. Yeah.

----------------------------------

"Master Keigo?"

Irritated, Atobe snapped his book shut and frowned at the unfortunate maid. "Yes?"

"Sanada-san is here to see you. He's waiting in the parlour."

"About bloody time," Atobe muttered, getting up out of his armchair and putting his book back on the shelf. "Tell him I'll see him in the livingroom."

"Yes, Master Keigo." The maid shut the door.

Sanada waited in front of the fireplace. It took no more than five minutes for Atobe to come down, but it felt like so much longer to him. He'd been wrestling with himself for the last two days. But Yukimura had Had Words with him today, and Sanada had confessed everything to him. And, as usual, Yukimura had made him see.

He couldn't lose Atobe. Not like this. Not now. Kei, his Kei. Sanada cared about him far too much. He just had to make Atobe understand that.

Easier said than done, of course.

The door opened, and Atobe walked haughtily in. He didn't sit, and Sanada stood up instead.

"Good evening," Atobe said coolly.

Sanada took a few steps towards him. "Kei… I'm sorry," he said, putting as much feeling as he possibly physically could into his words. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I was wrong, you're not being overdramatic or anything like that. I'm sorry."

There was a second's tense pause.

"So we don't have to keep our relationship a secret, then?" Atobe asked, trying valiantly not to sound hopeful.

"Kei, I'm sorry," Sanada said quietly. "I can't do that. I can't do that to my family. But I really, really don't want to lose you. I _can't_ lose you. Please, try to understand."

"… Of couse. Family comes first." The subdued bitterness and sarcasm stung. Sanada flinched.

Something tearing inside him, Sanada took the few steps needed to pull Atobe into a tight hug. He buried his normally stoic face into the crook of Atobe's shoulder.

"You mean more to me than my parents," he said muffledly. "You mean more to me than anyone. I just can't dishonour them like that. I can't. And I also can't lose you. I love you Kei, please, see that. You understand that, right? I love you."

He pulled back, startled and confused as Atobe's frame shook with silent laughter.

"Kei?" he said hesitantly. Atobe made an undignified noise of laughter, and then pulled himself under control, meeting Sanada's eyes.

"We sound… like a bad American soap," he said, struggling not to start laughing again. "Just like the ones I watched when I was ill. You're so corny, Genichiroh. Can't you say something more original?"

His Kei was back. Fairly sagging in relief, Sanada let a smile break free over his features. He leaned in and kissed him, pouring all his gratitude and love into the kiss.

When they finally broke apart, breathing heavily, Atobe stroked light fingers down Sanada's jawline. "You're staying here tonight," he said firmly.

"I…" Sanada hesitated. Then he exhaled slowly, nodding. "I'll stay. I'll say I'm at Yukimura's."

"Good."

----------------------------------

Marui yawned. "Looks like fukubuchou's back to normal," he commented, popping a bright blue bubble.

Niou mirrored the yawn, leaning lazily back into his chair, completely ignoring the maths teacher as she babbled on about some bizarre algebraic formula that Niou was sure he'd learnt last year, but couldn't remember anything about. "Just as well. I was almost beginning to miss him shouting at me every second he gets."

"Ha, ha," said Marui sarcastically.

"Ha yourself."

"You're just disappointed that you didn't get to go over to Hyoutei to try and 'make peace' between Atobe and fukubuchou," Marui accused shrewdly.

"No idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on! You were _totally_ checking out that second year. Whatshisface. Ohtori! That's it."

Niou rolled his eyes. "No, you were just imagining things. The kid's Christian. I don't think he's gonna be happy about me eying him up. 'Sides, I'm not gonna make him question his faith anymore than he probably is already, what with that Shishido making him blush all the time."

"Yeah right. You don't care about his faith."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do."

"Not."

"Do."

"Do you _want_ me to give the bratling all my blackmail material on you?"

Marui hastily shut up.

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Sandy: -Triumphant trumpet music- All hail the Tango Pair. ;)

If you liked it, then please take a few seconds of your life to let me know! If you didn't like it, please take a few moments to tell me why. If you have any suggestions, ideas, etc then please, please let me know! If there's anything you'd like to see happen, I always consider your comments. :) Thank you very much in advance.

Until next time!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **The Rikkai Drabblethings are mine. The characters are not. ;.;

**Rating: **_Probably_ PG

**Warnings: **Shounen-ai/yaoi, fluff like you wouldn't believe.

**Chapter summary: **This, my friends, is Atobe and Sanada basking in the afterglow.

**Author's notes: **For the lovely people who reviewed the last chapter of October Ice. ;) Namely: **Linc, Kirihara Akaya, Athena Princess Of Darkness, Pikke Wood, Merissala, Dark Angelus, Only Meg, Toh Sock, Ryuu Amethyst, May-Linn, Risa-chan, Elvenarchress, Roaming Phantom, Leona **and **Britix**. Tango Pair dedication to the lovely Linc, as ever!

This chapter is also specially dedicated to **Merissala**, cos she wanted it. xDD

Also… _2950+ hits_:o I'm chuffed like a chuffed thing. n.n

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"Once upon a time," Atobe said sleepily, "there was… mm… a prince. A very handsome, talented, charming prince."

"… Kei, what are you doing?"

Atobe rolled onto his side and draped himself over Sanada's torso. "I did warn you that I'd get infected with Random if you made me spend too much time around your crazy team."

Yawning, Sanada nuzzled into Atobe's mussed (for once) hair and said, "It wasn't that bad. It could've been worse; Niou didn't attack Shishido like Yanagi thought he would."

"Au contraire, mon amour. Jirou says he saw them step outside. That must have ended in a fight."

Sanada groaned despairingly. "Whose idea was it to have a graduation party with the third years of the tennis teams Yukimura wanted to invite again?"

"I believe it was the bubble boy. Marui."

"Figures."

"Mm." There was a moment of quiet, then Atobe said, "So, anyway, there was a prince. And he was… no, wait, already did that bit."

"The ego-trip?"

"Yeah. Let's see… alright, this prince was very dedicated to his favourite sport. And he was very good at it, thank you. He was highly competitive as well, and had something of a three-way rivalry with two other princes. Well, lords, anyway."

"Hey."

Atobe ignored the sleepy objection. "One day, this prince went on holiday to the mountain forests west of Tokyo. He enjoyed it, like he enjoyed most of his holidays, but the problem was that he was quite lonely, as there were no other people his age nearby. He used up a lot of time by practising his tennis by himself, on a single tennis court next to a sheltered little lake. But he didn't realise that someone else happened to be holidaying nearby and was watching him from the shadows. Suddenly, the watcher revealed himself. And who should it be but one of the lords, one of the prince's destined rivals?"

"I think you're being slightly overdramatic, Kei. I think you should stop."

"Shocked, the prince swiftly recovered himself. 'What are _you_ doing here, ahh-n?' he asked the lord. The lord replied that he was on holiday with his family, who were all home for once. He challenged the prince to a match, declaring that he would win for sure.'"

"No I di-"

"Shh. It's _my_ story. Anyway, the prince accepted, and they played the match. It lasted for a very long time, but eventually, the prince came out as the victor, claiming a glorious triumph over the lord."

"It wasn't-"

"Do you want me to tell this story or not?"

"I didn't even ask for you to tell it!"

"Silence, mere mortal. Ore-sama has the stage right now. So, the lord regretfully accepted his loss. They shook hands and parted ways. However, the very next day the lord was there again, and he challenged the prince to yet another match. But this time, he bet the prince that if the prince lost, then the lord would reserve the right to challenge Te-um, the other lord, to the first unofficial match when he got back from rehab. Because the other lord had injured his arm and shoulder trying foolishly to win against the prince."

Sanada snorted.

"'So what happens if _you_ lose?' the prince asked. The lord shrugged and told him that it didn't matter because he'd win this time. So the prince said that if the lord lost, then he had to help the prince understand the ridiculous concept of tangents and tangent formulae. The lord agreed, and they played. But the lord lost again, and so he had to honour his bet. He explained to the prince this pointless concept, but unfortunately, the lord wasn't a very good teacher at all."

"The prince didn't complain."

"Only because he was too busy watching – look, be quiet. The lord wasn't a very good teacher. So the prince didn't really learn anything. They parted ways on surprisingly amiable terms, however. That night, the prince had a strange dream. He dreamt that he woke up the next morning to find that the lord was sleeping on the floor, and no matter how hard the prince tried to wake him, he couldn't. Then he realised, still dreaming, that the lord was like that because he hadn't been able to win, so he'd taken a sleeping draught."

"… That's such a strange dream."

"Well, yes. That's what I just said. And that's what the prince thought when he really did wake up. He didn't believe in dreams coming true or any sort of superstitious nonsense, but just to be safe, he thought he'd better lose the next match they played on purpose. But when he went to the lakeside court, the lord wasn't there. It was about ten in the morning, so the prince waited and warmed up. Noon came, and then the afternoon, but the lord didn't come. Finally, at seven in the evening, the prince gave up and went back to the lodge. He felt strangely disappointed. He wondered why the lord didn't come. But then he decided that he was obssessing far too much over this, and thought of it no more. Except he really couldn't stop."

Atobe stopped, and Sanada waited a few moments before nudging him gently with his nose. "And?"

"Well, the prince decided to go and visit the cottage that the lord and his family were staying at. He met with the lord's mother, who said that the rest of the family were out hiking. She told him that the lord had been saying a lot about him. The prince was surprisingly flattered."

"Because the prince's ego –"

Atobe shut Sanada up by rolling on top of him and kissing him senseless. The kiss deepened and grew stronger, and the storytelling was forgotten completely in light of… much more interesting things.

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Sandy: Short but sweet. Hopefully. xD

If you liked it, then please, please leave a review! They feed my soul and make me happy, they do. Questions, suggestions, comments, requests, etc… all are welcomed, as always. n.n

Until next time!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **The Rikkai Drabblethings are mine. The characters are not. ;.;

**Rating: **_Probably_ PG

**Warnings: **Shounen-ai/yaoi, angst.

**Chapter summary:** The lovely **Book of Doom** was right when she said "ominous" in her review… Let's just leave it at that.

**Author's notes: **For the fabbity people who reviewed the last chapter of October Ice. ;) Namely: **Linc, Sheik's Lonely, KiriharaAkaya, May-Linn, Simmy.xxx, Hropkey **(Damn you and your smarts… . . Shh), **Dark Angelus, Britix **(Don't stop nagging me, ever. Please. xD I love you for it), **Merissala **(Stupid mistake on my part n.n;; lol it's not complete, obviously), **Book of Doom, Roaming Phantom, Eirin, Pikke Wood, Toh Sock **(Loving that idea xD), Juventine2509 and **Nezrin. **I love you all. 3 Tango Pair dedication to Linc, as ever!

Eh heh… yeah, I wrote this in Starbucks, so if that explains away the slightly shoddy quality of this particular chapter… n.n;; Hope you enjoy it, nonetheless.

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It was over with. And Sanada felt oddly… numb.

He wanted to yell and kick something, but he definitely didn't want to move. He wanted to go to sleep – things would look better in the morning, surely – but he knew he couldn't.

He'd known it couldn't last. Ever since they'd started keeping it a secret from his parents, he'd known it couldn't last. In the end it had only been a junior high romance, after all.

Sanada had finally, by Atobe, been forced to choose between his family or his lover. And he'd chosen his family.

It had been the hardest choice of his life. Far, far harder than deciding to start up a relationship with Atobe in the first place.

Somehow, Sanada found himself on the computer. Why was that, again? He couldn't remember.

A little message box bleeped onto the bottom of his screen, and he looked at it a moment, mind taking a while to register. Oh, right… yes, he'd logged onto his messenger service. Sanada wanted to speak to someone, but he didn't want to talk. This seemed logical.

A conversation window opened up, but Sanada closed it and put a temporary block on all his contacts bar one. He wanted to speak to a particular person tonight.

'Good evening', he typed slowly, pressing enter. The muted click of the keys sounded unnaturally loud in his ears.

_Calligraph: Evening. Is there something wrong with your messenger?_

_Calligraph: Only Marui says he tried to talk to you but you're not online anymore. Except you are, obviously._

_Calligraph: Genichiroh? Are you there? It's rare for you to use this program._

_FuuRinKaaZan: Tell him I'm offline, please._

_Calligraph: Alright. What's going on?_

_FuuRinKaaZan: I just broke up with Atobe._

There was a long pause in which no new words came up on the screen. Sanada imagined he could see the dots making their way across the other person's mind.

_Calligraph: Ah. _

_Calligraph: For what reason?_

_FuuRinKaaZan: He asked me to decide, once and for all, whether I was going to tell my family that I wasn't going to stop dating him on their say-so or whether I was going to end the relationship properly. So I chose. I think I made the right choice._

_Calligraph: I don't understand._

And that made Sanada blink, because that was literally the last thing he'd expected to see. Apart from, perhaps, some comment about the virtues of blue carrots. He started to type an answer, but the other person beat him to it.

_Calligraph: You love him. More than anything._

_Calligraph: Genichiroh, what the hell do you think you're doing?_

_Calligraph: When did you break up with him?_

_FuuRinKaaZan: About an hour ago._

_Calligraph: And when did he ask you to choose?_

_FuuRinKaaZan: After lunch._

_Calligraph: You decided in six hours?_

_FuuRinKaaZan: Seven. We had lunch at twelve._

There was another pause, and when the other person started typing again the words flew across the screen faster than Sanada would have believed.

_Calligraph: You took seven hours to decide to give yourself enough emotional damage to last you until your mid-life crisis?_

_Calligraph: I don't believe you could be so STUPID_

Sanada stared at the sentence, wondering whether he was really talking to who he thought he was.

_Calligraph: What on earth made you decide that?_

_FuuRinKaaZan: We're sixteen. I am, anyway. Romances like ours don't last long. It was better this way._

_Calligraph: Especially where your family is concerned, yes?_

_FuuRinKaaZan: Yes._

Sanada waited for a reply, but none came. He typed a single question mark, but that too went unanswered. Then the phone started to ring.

The sound nearly made him flinch. He eyed it warily, wishing he had caller ID on his home phone, but knowing who it was anyway. Reluctantly, slowly, he reached over and picked it up. "Moshi-moshi?"

"Sanada Genichiroh, I can't _believe_ what you just told me." The furious tone was enough to shock Sanada into speechlessness before he could formulate a reply. "You and Atobe sacrificed so much to be together, and now that's over? You only just celebrated your six-month anniversary! So what if you're only sixteen? Akaya's _fourteen_ for crying out loud, and he and Marui couldn't be happier."

"Akaya doesn't exactly have family pressures, though," Sanada pointed out quietly. Maybe this time his own tone of voice was enough to keep another burning tirade from scorching the phone line, and he took advantage of it. "And Akaya's different in any case. You can't deny that normal rules don't apply to him."

"They apply to Marui!"

"Yes, but-"

"Atobe loves you enough to not care what his family think. I thought he meant the _world_ to you?"

"He does. Did. Does."

"Well, evidently not if you're choosing your somewhat lukewarm family over him!"

Sanada decided to defend himself a bit. "Yukimura, this is not a film. This is _life_, real life, and I'm being practical."

"So what if it's not a film? How does that come into it anyway? You _love_ Atobe! The kind of feeling I know you have for him might not come around ever again. You're _incredibly_ lucky to have found him this early in your life, when things aren't quite so complicated. Don't you _dare_ throw that away, Sanada Genichiroh."

"You're being overdramatic," Sanada argued. "There's always another fish in the sea, as Marui says."

"Not for everyone!!" Sanada actually had to move the phone a little way away from his ear as Yukimura's voice exploded down the line. "'Haru will never have what you have!"

Now Sanada was just confused. "How does _Niou_ come into this?"

"'Haru will never be as close to anyone as you are to Atobe! He'll never have someone strong enough to sort out the _mess_ in his mind! He's so starved of love and affection that until he met us, his idea of love was permission to keep a tarantula in the greenhouse!"

The expression 'opening a can of worms' sauntered through Sanada's mind for a few moments. He'd never heard Yukimura so angry for such a prolonged length of time. He'd never heard him shout like this; he sounded almost as though he was on the verge of tears.

"Do you know what really helped him, Genichiroh? Apart from Akaya? _Your relationship with Atobe_. Atobe's not exactly the type to get too close to people either. But he got close, very close, to you. And 'Haru started thinking that maybe there was hope for him too. He's just about to start tentatively dating Ohtori-kun, you know."

"… So, wait, you're saying I should make up with Ke – Atobe for _Niou's_ sake?"

"Of course not!" Well, frustration was easier on Sanada's ears than anger, at least. "You're completely missing the point!"

"Then please _explain_ it to me, because I actually wanted _sympathy_ from you rather than impractical yelling," Sanada growled, knuckles white around the phone.

Yukimura seemed to relent a little; or, at least, his next words had some of his usual patience tingeing the edges. "What I'm trying to say is that breaking up with Atobe to please your family is possibly one of the stupidest things you could have done."

"Atobe was the one who told me I had to choose," Sanada pointed out miserably. "I would have been happy to let things stay the way they were."

"It wouldn't have been long before they found out anyway."

"Possibly. Possibly not." Sanada glanced towards his alarm clock. "It's getting late. Do you have anything else to tell me?"

"Genichi-"

"Good night, then." Sanada terminated the call and switched off the computer. Somewhere in his mind he felt the odd sense of finality that came with the actions. He didn't bother to change into sleepwear; instead, he just folded himself straight under the covers of his bed and tried his hardest not to cry.

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Yanagi Renji rubbed sleepily at his eyes, looking uncomprehendingly at his watch and the ringing mobile. What on earth was Mura doing, ringing him at this time?

He sighed and reluctantly picked up the phone. "Moshi-moshi…?"

"Renji, it's me."

"I gathered, yes. You do _know_ it's ten past one in the morning, don't you?"

Yukimura had his Buchou Voice on full power. "Operation: Fix the Tango is beginning tomorrow. Be at the clubhouse at six."

"… Genichiroh and Atobe split up?"

"Yes." Yukimura's voice was grim. "And I'm not letting them lose their other half without a fight."

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Sandy: Right, ok, this is the deal right now. My exams are cannoning towards me waaay too fast for comfort, and I still have a bit of coursework and stuff to do/write up/whatever on top of revision. Which means, unfortunately, between now and the end of May updates may be pretty few and far between. I tried to wrap up any proper mini-plotlines for this and my Rikkai Drabblethings, but it just kind of… didn't work out that way. n.n;; So, yeah, what I'm saying is a) Sorry dahls, and b) Please, please leave me reviews for the things I do get round to uploading, because it really will help me out, both with writing more stuff for you and my exam work. The alert system seems to have failed on us, and so you may or may not know that I uploaded a Drabblething fairly recently that has like, nine reviews… but anyway, what I'm asking is, please leave a review for this, that, and my stuff between now and the end of May.

Sorry to leave such a long end note n.n;; Thanks for reading. –Smooches-

Until next time (we hope)!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **The Rikkai Drabblethings are mine. The characters are (mostly) not. ;.;

**Rating: **_Probably_ PG

**Warnings: **Shounen-ai/yaoi, cracky angsty fluffy ARGHness, very rare language.

**Chapter summary:** Here it is at last; Operation: Fix the Tango is go!

**Author's notes: **Smooches and love to **May-Linn, KiriharaAkaya, Sheik's Lonely, ImmortalTigeress, Elvenarchress, Hropkey **(LOL Never mind, it was still fun to read ;p), **Sodesne, Merissala, Britix **(-Smooches-)**, Maldita08 **(Ah, I would, but I'm bad enough with titles as it is n.n;; But what do you mean, Tezuka?), **Juventina2509, Dark Angelus, Animesque, Eirin **(There's angst, then there's Atobe-crying-in-his-room-alone-angst. The former I can make myself write, but the latter? Nein, it's too sad! I'll cry! ;.; Really), **Ryana999, Simmy.xxx, Pikke Wood, Juz-a-reviewer, Toh Sock, Jomai **and **Shadowinrw**. And special smooches to **Shadowinrw** for sending me a PM asking for this chapter. :3 Tango Pair dedication to Linc, as ever!

And, um… n.n;; Well, it's a long (read as rambly…) chapter. If that in any way makes up for me posting chapter 7 and then pretending it doesn't exist. n.n;; LOL It exists now, at any rate. You'll just have to pretend it took place on June 15th. You can do that, right? You're all clever folk.

Also… How in Buddha's holy name do you describe the noise the ball makes when it hits a fence? Sure as hell isn't a clang or a jingle. Or is it? o.0

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June 16th, 2007 – 6:01 am

"Prenez un talkie-walkie!"

"…?"

"Prenez un talkie-walkie!"

"Why are you shoving that thing in my face?" Jackal asked, backing off a couple of steps – or tried to, anyway. There wasn't exactly much room in the clubhouse thanks to the boxes of tennis balls and spare racquets that hadn't been taken out for the day yet. They were in the junior high clubhouse rather than the highschool one; they'd assumed that this was because a) Yukimura didn't have control over the highschool clubhouse _just_ yet, and b) no-one would be using this clubhouse until the afternoon – Akaya had, on Yukimura's request, exercised his newfound power as buchou and cancelled the Saturday morning practice.

"Prenez un talkie-walkie!"

Yagyuu stared in utter incomprehension as Niou cracked up and started cackling hysterically, dropping to a crouch on the ground and clutching his stomach as he laughed.

"What in the holy name of Buddha are you on?" Marui asked, looking torn between being scared and being intensely amused.

"He gets like this when he wakes up too early," Akaya said, rubbing sleepily at his mussed hair. "Just ignore him."

"What's he saying?" Yagyuu asked cautiously. Honestly, just when you thought you knew a guy, that guy went and changed nationalities.

"He's telling you to take a walkie-talkie. The French call it a talkie-walkie, apparently."

"Prenez un talkie-walkie!" Niou howled, gasping for breath, evidently unable to stop laughing.

Always susceptible to hysteria, Marui started laughing a little as well, and before Jackal and Yagyuu's bemused eyes he soon joined in with Niou's fit of unstoppable mirth.

"It's too early for this," Yagyuu said resignedly, checking his watch again. "It's only just past six. Yukimura did tell us to meet at six, right?"

"Yep," Akaya nodded.

"I'm impressed you know what he's saying," Jackal said, pointing at Niou. "Especially seeing as you actively reject all English, even though it's pretty easy to learn if you try."

"Meh. French is easier," Akaya shrugged.

"… How? You don't have French lessons, but you have English lessons."

"So? It's still easier. Je parle assez bon francais. Tu es un ananas chauve."

"What?"

The door opened, interrupting the conversation (probably luckily for Jackal; it's never fun to be told at six am that you're a bald pineapple).

"Good morning, everyone." Yukimura had that steely, authoritative look in his eyes that they all knew meant Business. "Good to see we're all here."

"Except for fukubuchou and Yanagi-senpai," Akaya pointed out.

"Renji is sorting out preparations, and Sanada is the reason we are here."

Jackal and Yagyuu exchanged glances. Yukimura only ever called his best friends by their family names when he was either in polite company or when he was Class A pissed with them.

"What's wrong with 'Haru and Maru?" Yukimura asked finally, looking down at the still-hysterical duo.

"Prenez un talkie-walkie?" Jackal offered weakly.

"Oh, I see. Arrêter de rire et faire l'attention, s'il vous plaît."

"Um, Mura-buchou?" said Akaya. "I don't think Niou-senpai actually speaks French. He just picked up that phrase on some internet game last night and finds it funny that the French say 'talkie-walkie' instead of walkie-talkie."

Yukimura looked momentarily annoyed and sent a small frown towards the unfortunate two. They instantly stopped laughing out of pure instinct; it took them a few confused glances around the clubhouse to work out why their brains had panicked them into paying attention.

"Sorry, Mura," Marui said hastily, getting up and brushing himself off. "It's early, yanno?"

Niou nodded in agreement, though there was still a definitely high-on-early-morning look in his eyes. "Yeah. Sorry, Mura."

Yukimura gave them a simple nod of acknowledgement before turning to address everyone as a group. "You must be wondering why I called you all here," he began. "In summary, Sanada is being stupid and we need to intervene."

"We're doing an intervention?" Light dawned in Marui's eyes. "We're going to make him give up that cap once and for all?"

"I _like_ that cap," Yukimura protested. "I don't understand what everyone else seems to have against it. No, it's far worse."

"He's finally cracked and bought a lion?"

"Don't interrupt, Akaya." Startled by the sharp tone, Akaya looked worriedly at Marui, who gave him an equally anxious shrug. Yukimura definitely seemed on the warpath this morning.

"So what is it?" prompted Jackal warily.

"He's broken up with Atobe for his family's sake. And we are going to make him see sense."

A pause fell over the interior of the clubhouse as the people inside digested this.

"Um, Mura?" Marui ventured. "No offence, but if that's his decision, shouldn't we just… you know, let it be?"

"Yeah," agreed Niou, "cos if we were gonna interfere in his love life, I'd have done a hell of a lot more to annoy him."

"No. We would have let him be, but this is beyond ridiculous. Can't you see that? Anyone?"

There was a pointed lack of response.

A full scowl broke out over Yukimura's face. "You think I'm being childish."

"I don't think any of us could ever accuse you of being childish," Yagyuu said tactfully. "But maybe you're taking this a little… mm, personally?"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean? I'm just trying to help him past this stupidity. He was _happy_, damnit, and I'm not going to let that slide away from him, understand?"

"Yessir," Akaya said, saluting brightly.

Yukimura looked surprised but gratified. "Thank you, Akaya. I knew you'd listen."

"Of course he'd listen," Marui muttered to Niou. "Kid freaking adores him."

"What exactly is it you want us to do?" asked Jackal.

"Well, that's also why I called you all here." Yukimura walked over to the whiteboard and picked up the dry-pen.

"… Wait," Niou said slowly. "You're not implying that you don't actually have a plan, are you?"

"Don't be stupid," Marui snorted. "It's Mura. Of course he's got a plan!"

"Um… I thank you for the vote of confidence," said Yukimura, steel suddenly shifting aside just a little to make room for sheepishness, "but I was sort of hoping that we could come up with a plan here and now."

"So what's Yanagi doing?" Jackal asked, perplexed. "You said he was making preparations."

"He is. He's making sure that Genichiroh doesn't interrupt whatever plans we make."

Another pause descended on the clubhouse, broken only by the gentle chirrups of the cicadas outside.

"Mura, I have every confidence in you as a person," Niou said slowly, "but seriously, you want to come up with a plan _now_?!"

"With us especially," Marui agreed. "Can't you and Yanagi come up with a plan between you?"

"Well, actually, no. You see, we know him too well. Whatever plan we come up with is likely not to work because of this."

"… Run that one by me again?" Jackal said.

"Look, it just wouldn't work, alright? Now start brainstorming."

"Oh, I _see_," Niou said, snapping his fingers. "You don't want to make a plan in case it doesn't work, because you're too close and you'd end up guilt-tripping to Hawaii and back which would definitely hurt your friendship, and so you can't come up with a plan because you're worried it'll fail. Oui?"

Marui, Akaya and Jackal gaped at him. Yagyuu did the next best thing of blinking so hard his glasses twitched.

"Blimey. Since when did _you_ get the Yukimuraknowsall,fool 2000 (tm) upgrade?" Marui demanded. "And where can I get one?"

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7:30 am

Yanagi waited patiently for Yukimura to pick up his phone.

He was sitting on the bench on the corner of Sanada's street, legs casually crossed, keeping an eye on the Sanada household. Some activity had been going on for about half an hour, but there was no sign of anyone coming out, and judging by the pop music drifting out of the slightly-open kitchen window the movement inside was someone other than his joint best friend.

"Renji? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. We agreed that I'd call you at seven thirty, yes?"

"Oh, right. Of course. I didn't realise it was seven thirty already."

"I'm on the corner bench. Genichiroh hasn't come out for his usual weekend-early-morning walk, worryingly enough, but at least it means he doesn't need distracting just yet. So what's the plan?"

"… I'll put the phone on temporary loudspeaker so you can hear what's going on at the moment."

"Um, alright?"

There was a short beep, and then the background noise Yanagi had been hearing became much louder and clearer.

"Alright, alright, assume for just a second that we could find a well like that. How would we get them in?" Marui's voice – from the sound of it, he was chewing several pieces of gum as he talked.

"Push them, of course." Niou.

"And what if they hurt themselves falling, genius?"

"Roll on anxious ex-boyfriend!"

"I think it's a good suggestion, but let's move onto a different idea." The diplomatic tones of the Gentleman.

"What's wrong with it? Stick 'em down a well for a while and they're bound to sort something out."

… Wait, what?

"But what if there's snakes down there? They might get eaten."

"Akaya, there aren't any snakes in wells."

"There might be. If there can be dead girls in wells then there can be snakes too."

"Only dead ones!"

"Why dead?"

A loud, over-exaggerated sigh from Niou. "Because, baby bratling, like the girl – who, by the way, is purely a fictional film character, idiot – the snakes would have starved to death."

"No, because they feed off the people that get pushed in by their friends who're trying to make them get back together."

"And how many times can _that_ happen in a week?!"

"It must happen a lot if they're still alive down there."

"Down _where_?"

"Down the well! Haven't you been listening, Jackal-senpai?"

"Bratling, it's a _hypothetical_ well. It doesn't actually exist."

"… Well then, that's just stupid. Why were you planning on pushing fukubuchou and Atobe-san down a hypothetical well? How does that help?"

Another beep sounded and the voices faded to background murmurs.

"And that's the situation right now," Yukimura said wearily. "I think we're getting close to the end of the not-very-good ideas and on to the good ideas. I'll let you know when we actually do arrive at that point."

Yanagi sighed. "Send me a postcard when you get there," he said dryly. "Jaa."

"Jaa." Yukimura terminated the call.

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9:11 am

Still no Sanada coming out of the front door. Yanagi was starting to get tired of waiting on the bench – he could only sit still for so long without something to do other than watch a house.

He got out his phone again and pressed redial. Surely the others would have made _some _progress by now, right?

"Renji?"

"Still nothing. Just wondering how the planning is going."

Yukimura didn't even bother to reply. Yanagi heard the short beep again and the background voices faded in.

"We can't hit one of them with an ice cream truck! What if they die?!"

"If you hit someone at thirty miles an hour, then there's an eighty percent chance that they'll live. If you hit someone at forty miles and hour, there's an eighty percent chance that they'll die. So we just have to hit them at like, 25 miles an hour."

"Thank you, Sammy the Road-Safety Squirrel," Niou said sarcastically, "but that's even more stupid than my not-stupid well idea, or Hiroshi's peanut idea. And I thought you'd be the last person to suggest running someone over."

"Yeah, but we won't do any damage. Just enough to last about a couple of days."

"Akaya, thank you, but that idea won't work, if only for the fact that none of us can drive. Next suggestion?"

"Niou-senpai can drive."

"Hot-wiring and actually driving are two different things," said Yukimura firmly. "Now can we have another suggestion, please? Something that won't involve physical damage to either of them?"

Yanagi got the point and terminated the call.

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11:03 am

"Ok, right, this is getting ridiculous," Yukimura said, frustrated. "We've been here for _five hours_ and we still don't have a good plan."

"Well then, go with the plan _you_ came up with," said Niou, blowing smoke through the open window. "Take a damn chance."

"I told you, I don't have a plan."

Niou snorted. "Right, sure. You're not fooling me, Mura. You've got a perfectly good plan that has every chance of working in that head of yours. You just don't want to execute it. So either tell me how I can help, or I'm going to go see Choutarou."

An expectant silence settled over the clubhouse again. Yukimura glanced sideways at the ink-covered whiteboard, mutely looking over the nonsensical scribbles and absurd diagrams.

He sighed almost inaudibly and gave a small shrug. "Fine," he muttered. "But if it doesn't work-"

"Then blame me. So spill."

Yukimura gave in. "Alright. But there isn't really any way you can help with it."

"All the better!" Niou gave him a massive thumbs-up. "Then I don't have to hold off the Lazy anymore. What're you going to do?"

"Bunta, you know your way around the Hyoutei grounds, right?"

Marui shrugged. "Junior high better than high, but yeah."

"Good. I want you to go there and find someone sympathetic to Atobe. Explain the situation to them and give them this message." Yukimura fished around in his pocket a moment and then produced a neatly folded piece of paper.

"See? 'I don't have a plan' my ass," Niou muttered with a little smirk-smile.

Marui took the paper and unfolded it, scanning the contents briefly. Akaya craned over his shoulder, standing on tiptoes, and read it as well.

"Will that work?" he asked with a puzzled frown, but he was drowned out by his enthusiastic boyfriend.

"That's _brilliant_, Mura!" Marui exclaimed, beaming.

"What is it?" Jackal asked curiously.

"Tick tock," Yukimura said mildly but pointedly. Marui gave a lopsided salute and headed out the door, jogging lightly off.

"So what's the plan?" Jackal asked again as Yukimura shut the door.

"Right. Here it is. We're going to send a text to Atobe from 'Genichiroh' telling him to go to the mini-lakeside near Atobe's house at two pm. I'll also send a text to Genichiroh from myself telling him to be at the same place, but stressing that he has to be there for exactly two-oh-five. Because I'm not sure if he's likely to show up if he thinks it's from Atobe. Now, Bunta's gone to find someone from Hyoutei who's sympathetic to Atobe. That Hyoutei person will be at the lakeside before Atobe, and will engage in conversation to keep him there, watching the entrance path and making sure Atobe can't see down it. Then, when they see Genichiroh approaching, they'll kiss Atobe. And Genichiroh will see that and be forced to realise that he's jealous and has made a stupid mistake. Cue him interrupting to tell Atobe how sorry he is and how much he wants him back. Sympathetic Hyoutei person tactfully fades into the background as they probably start arguing, then suddenly burst out laughing in that universal 'aren't we fools' way and make up. Operation: Fix the Tango complete."

"… Tell me again why we just wasted five hours of our lives?" Niou demanded.

"Succinctly put," murmured Yagyuu, adjusting his glasses slightly. "It seems a very good plan to me."

Yukimura gave an apologetic little smile. "I'm really sorry. I just thought… well, you know."

"At least you had a backup," Jackal pointed out kindly.

"You're really smart, Mura-buchou," Akaya said, green eyes practically glowing with admiration. "It'll definitely work."

"Well, we can hope. Can I borrow your phone for a moment, Yagyuu? I don't think Atobe has my number, but better safe than sorry."

"Of course." Yagyuu pulled it out of his pocket and handed it over. "Although, you might want to consider phoning Yanagi first to let him know what's going on."

"He's probably fused to the bench by now," Niou snickered. "Man, he's gonna be so pissed at you, Mura."

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1:57 pm

"Atobe should be arriving at the lakeside soon," Yukimura said, fingers drumming lightly along his racquet in a rare display of the fidgets. "I really wish I could be there to make sure nothing goes wrong…"

"You're a Regular, Mura," Marui mock-chided, knocking him on the head. "Future buchou, too. You can't miss practice, even if it _is_ to see a brilliant plan come to fruition."

"I suppose," Yukimura sighed. He served a ball half-heartedly across the net where it hit the fence with a quiet noise. "Well, at least Renji and Yagyuu are there. I trust them."

"Exactly. See? I knew something good would come of Yanagi losing out on a Regular spot."

"Mm." Yukimura started bouncing a ball on the ground, getting ready to serve again.

"That crazy hyper kid should be there too by now. You did say before Atobe, right?"

"Right." Yukimura put some effort into the serve this time, and it hit the fence with a far more decisive ring. "Crazy hyper kid? Why did you get a hyper junior high kid to do the job?"

"He's in our year; high school first year. I just call him kid cos he behaves like one. It's kind of cute, in a mildly annoying way."

"Oh? Why annoying? You never find Akaya annoying."

"Yeah, but that's because Akaya doesn't have a complete spazz attack when he sees me. I swear, I could barely get a word in edgeways to give him the message."

Marui blinked as Yukimura swung and completely missed the ball.

"Wait." A strong suspicion was winding its way through Yukimura's mind. "Akutagawa Jirou? The narcoleptic boy?"

"The one that hero-worships me, yeah. It was fine once I explained the situation to him – he was more than happy to do anything I asked, seriously. What?"

"Oh, _no_."

Alarmed, Marui frowned and waved a hand in front of Yukimura's eyes. "Mura? What?"

"Why did you get _Akutagawa_?!"

"Why not? He's sympathetic to Atobe's plight, right? And he's –"

"He's the one person that won't… it doesn't… Genichiroh won't…" Yukimura's tongue kept tripping over itself in his frantic attempts to explain. He shook his head violently, hair falling into his eyes, and said, "Don't you see? They had a mini fight over that boy a while back! And after it was all sorted out, Atobe reassured Genichiroh that while he could easily develop a strong crush on Akutagawa, it wouldn't happen as long as Genichiroh was around. _As long as he was around_. So when Genichiroh sees them kissing, what the hell is he going to think?!"

"… Oh. Oh, _shit_."

Yukimura grabbed his bag, rummaging through it and finding Yanagi's number. He called it and waited, hand squeezing his racquet handle so hard his knuckles turned white.

"Pickuppickuppickup…" he muttered under his breath.

"They switched their phones to silent, remember?" Marui said anxiously. "Unless Yanagi's actually looking at his phone, he won't know it's ringing."

"_Hell_." Yukimura didn't hang up, keeping the phone pressed to his ear as he stuffed his racquet into his bag and left it, starting to run.

Marui hurried after him, violet eyes wide. "But Yanagi'll know, right? He'll stop it, right?"

"No, Renji doesn't know. We never thought to tell him – it's not like we confide all our secrets to each other, you know. We're _guys_."

"Yukimura-kun? Marui-kun? Where are you going? Practice isn't over yet!"

Marui spun on his heel and flashed an apologetic peace sign at the puzzled third year. "Emergency!" he babbled. "We'll be back soon, ok? See, look, we left our bags. We'll be back soon. You can pretend we're just going on a run, ok?" He raced off after Yukimura again.

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2:01 pm

"Mura, it's like, an eight minute run from here!" Marui panted. "We're not going to make it like this."

"Do we have another choice?" Yukimura shot back. He waved the persistently calling phone at Marui for a second before pressing it back against his ear. "Either Renji will pick up, or we'll just have to get there in time." He abruptly upped the pace and they raced down the road leading out of the city centre and into the suburbs.

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2:02 pm

Yagyuu blinked as a very faint but insistent noise finally reached his ears. It sounded almost like a… buzzing, coming from Yanagi's bag.

"I think your phone might be ringing," he whispered.

"Sorry?"

Yagyuu started to repeat himself, but then Atobe entered the clearing and he quickly shut up, watching silently through the leaves of the bushes they were hiding behind.

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2:04 pm

Yukimura was forced to put his phone away, needing his arm to help drive oxygen into his lungs. Marui was keeping up amazingly well with Yukimura's limit-pushing pace considering his rapidly decreasing blood sugar levels.

"Knew… should've bought… some more gum," he panted. He risked a quick look at his watch and his eyes widened. "Mura!"

The dark-haired boy glanced over and saw Marui holding up his watch with a panicky expression. He checked his own and wasted a breath exclaiming. He sped up again and Marui determinedly forced himself to match it.

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2:05 pm

Jirou spotted someone coming up the thin path. His view was largely obscured by branches, but that was unmistakably Sanada.

Time to make Marui-kun proud, he thought happily.

"Ne, Atobe?" he said, moving closer. "Close your eyes a second."

"Close my eyes?" Puzzled, Atobe obeyed nonetheless.

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2:06 pm

Jirou kissed him.

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Sandy: Mwa HA.

Please leave a review telling me all your lovely thoughts, opinions, rants, etc! Oh, and if you could please quote your favourite bit from this chapter, I'd be ever-so grateful; it helps me improve my writing, donchaknow. :)

And… Yes, people, my exams are OVER

OVER

OVER

OVER

Freaking OVER, baby!!! So please, leave me a review so I can write the next chapter for you quicker. –Massive cheesy grin-


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **The Rikkai Drabblethings are mine. The characters are (mostly) not. ;.;

**Rating: **_Probably_ PG

**Warnings: **Shounen-ai/yaoi, cracky angsty fluffy ARGHness, very rare language.

**Chapter summary:** … Let's just say 'oh dear' and go for it, shall we?

**Author's notes: **Smooches and love to **Darknesswithinthebush **(Ahh, now hold that thought there. ;p ), **May-Linn87 **(-Snuggles-)**, KiriharaAkaya, ImmortalTigeress, Elvenarchress **("the Lazy" is just, yanno, a weird way of saying 'laziness'. n.n;; And as for Sanada… Um, walking?)**, Hropkey **(Eh heh heh… Not quite tomorrow…), **Merissala **(Soon…? n.n;;)**, Britix **(-Smooches again-)**, Maldita08 **(What, really? o.0), **Juventina2509, Dark Angelus, Animesque, Eirin **(What do you mean by 'discussion'? Get back to me on this?) **SAPPHASH, Simmy.xxx, Pikke Wood, Juz-a-reviewer, LoveableDuck, **and **Batool **(Really? I thought I made him totally imperfect here… n.n;; My bad). 3 Tango Pair dedication to Linc, as ever!

Oh, and **May-Linn87**? You're totally right when you say 'rattle'. _That's_ the word I was looking for, dangit. xD

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2:06 pm

Yanagi and Yagyuu exchanged pleased glances as Jirou abruptly kissed a startled Atobe. Atobe's eyelids fluttered, but he didn't quite open them – just as well, really. Because not three seconds later, Sanada ducked around a leafy branch and stopped so suddenly that it was almost unreal.

The clichéd iron band snapped tight shut around his midriff, and for a couple of seconds he didn't even move to breathe or blink.

He couldn't believe his eyes. Jirou was kissing _his_ boyfriend, damnit! What did he think he was…?!

The flood of boiling indignation evaporated as quickly as it bubbled up.

… Oh, yeah. Atobe wasn't his boyfriend any more, as of yesterday. Right. Technically, Sanada supposed dully, he was free to kiss anyone he damn well pleased. Including the one person who'd ever been a semi-serious threat to their relationship.

Silently, Sanada backed out of the clearing and started to walk away.

The two hiding in the bushes exchanged another glance, but this one was definitely on the puzzled side.

'All my data and knowledge of Genichiroh as a person points to him not-so-politely interrupting and asking what's going on,' Yanagi mouthed to Yagyuu. 'He shouldn't be just… walking away.'

'I suppose your data must be missing something, then,' Yagyuu mouthed back.

2:07 pm

Yukimura's eyes widened as he caught sight of Sanada, coming out of the little semi-hidden entrance to the path leading to the lakeside.

Slowing down, completely out of breath, he pulled to a halt in front of the taller boy, doubling over to try and get enough oxygen circulating his bloodstream to talk. Marui did the same, although he stopped a little further off, unsure of quite what to do or say and sensibly deciding to leave it to Yukimura.

"… What are you two doing here?" Sanada asked blankly. Today just seemed to be full of odd surprises.

"What just… happened… in there?" Yukimura panted, opting not to give a straight answer for the time being.

For a couple of moments, Sanada just stared at his friend, a Genichiroh Inner Voice waking up and looking suspicious.

'Alright,' it said. 'Maybe sometimes Yukimura can be a little psychic. But he's not _that_ psychic. Find out what's going on so that we can go home and drink peach-flavoured coffee until our head explodes.'

"… What do you think might have happened?" he asked slowly, frowning.

Yukimura resisted the strong temptation to answer with 'what do you think I might think might have happened?'. "That depends on…" Stupid oxygen dependency! "… whether you're going to tell me… what happened."

'So he _does_ know something. Find out, damnit.' "I just saw Jirou-kun kissing Atobe," he said flatly. If he'd been anyone else, then maybe Sanada would have added something spiteful onto the end regarding the speed at which the narcoleptic boy had apparently replaced him, but he never did that kind of thing, no matter how much he might feel it needed saying.

As though he'd been expecting the answer, Yukimura started nodding, then shook his head frantically. "No, that was a misunderstanding," he said quickly, finally getting his breath back a bit. "It was just bad luck. Listen, we… well, Renji and I, anyway, set this up. Akutagawa is just doing Bunta a favour by kissing Atobe so that you'd get jealous and –" Yukimura sped up his words as Sanada started to walk tiredly off. "It was a misunderstanding, Genichiroh, bad luck that we got Akutagawa instead of anyone else. I was only trying –"

"Mura." And that was the first time Sanada had ever used the nickname. It surprised Yukimura into stopping for a vital second; whether intentionally or not, Sanada took advantage of the pause to speak.

"I don't want to hear the reasons behind it," he said firmly. "I just want to go home. Yes, it was probably a case of bad luck. And I'm guessing that you were banking on me interrupting jealously and realising that I do want Kei back after all. But as it is, it isn't some random person kissing him, it's Jirou-kun, and really, I wish them luck if they're going to start going out after this. Excuse me." He started to walk again.

Yukimura darted round in front of him, blocking the way. "But it wasn't Atobe's fault! We arranged it so that Akutagawa would just –"

"I don't want to hear it." Sanada forcefully brushed past and strode quickly off.

"…" Yukimura looked as though he wanted to follow, to keep trying to explain, but instead he turned to Marui and said quietly, "Stop me from going after him."

"Roger that." The pink-haired boy watched Yukimura concernedly, occasionally looking at the receding figure of Sanada too.

A tiny, almost-bitter chuckle sounded from Yukimura, and he shook his head. "I think we can call that a resounding failure," he said.

Marui dropped his eyes to the ground, feeling intensely guilty. "I'm so sorry," he apologised. "I didn't know, otherwise I would _so_ not have picked Akutagawa."

"It wasn't your fault. You didn't know. I should've told you."

"Well, it isn't _your_ fault," Marui said emphatically. "It would've gone perfect if it hadn't been for my stupid luck."

"… Let's say it's all of our faults for trying to interfere with Genichiroh's decisions," Yukimura said at last. "No matter how stupid it clearly is. I guess some things just weren't meant to be. Not that I believe in fate or anything."

Nodding, Marui rubbed tiredly at his forehead. "I need sugar," he said, offering Yukimura a tentative grin. "Let's go get something from some random café. Oh, and we should probably let Yanagi and Yagyuu know what's happening, otherwise they might be stuck in those bushes forever."

He was rewarded with a tiny half-smile, and they started up the path to surreptitiously rescue Yanagi and Yagyuu from their vigil.

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24th June

Despite meaning to, Sanada hadn't actually written in the diary Yanagi had given to him for Christmas since the second of February. It had just kept slipping his mind, or he'd chosen not to write in it on the days that he remembered it because there hadn't been anything of particular interest to write about, or another of many reasons the diary had stayed mostly-blank.

But today, Sanada kind of wanted to write something down in it. It was supposed to be therapeutic, doing such a thing, right? Akaya must keep his own diary so faithfully for a reason, Sanada supposed. Although of course one could never tell with him.

He took a few moments to look thoughtfully at the photograph of Atobe that he'd stuck at the bottom of the last entry before starting to write, dimly watching the neat ink characters slowly fill up the page.

_I suppose that this is what they'd call an 'epilogue' in a story. It's just as well that I'm not one for writing fiction. I'll leave that sort of thing to Marui and those who are good at it._

_It's been a total of eight days – no, nine – since Kei and I broke up. Already. Isn't time only supposed to fly when you're having fun? _

_According to Niou-via-Ohtori-kun, after an initial couple of days of general confusion, Kei and Jirou-kun have actually started dating properly. _

… _I suppose, then, I can't exactly call him 'Kei' anymore, can I? I've lost that right. I don't even feel as though I can call him 'Keigo'; the break-up was rather a bitter one. I haven't spoken to him since either. _

_I'm not going to dwell on the whys and wherefores of how our relationship could have ended so badly. I don't believe in brooding over what can't be changed – what's the point, after all? It will change nothing and do little good to anyone._

_Still. I can understand now why Yukimura and Renj, especially Yukimura, tried so hard to get us back together. Strangely, I don't resent my family – is that wrong of me? I don't personally feel so. Family duty is important. Very much so. Yukimura is very much what Renji refers to as 'a Pisces character' on this subject – i.e. he is very fond of the more dream-like romanticistic ideals in life that I don't feel really exist for practical people. Or any people, for that matter. I think he still thinks that I should just abandon my family's wishes in favour of love. It's interesting how this side of him manifests itself even through the sharp, calculating and charismatic mindframe that makes him such a successful leader._

_But I digress._

_This, then, is what they call 'closure' on those ridiculous American dramas and soaps that Kei loves to watch so that he can complain bitterly about their stupidity. And also then be smug about the fact that he doesn't really need the subtitles._

_My closing poem. There's no point in making it into a song if no-one's going to hear it, is there? Not like the first song I wrote for him, way back on his birthday last year._

…………………

_**Unfrozen River**_

_And so in Summer we find _

_That even the most beautiful ice_

_Cannot face the sun. _

_Like the river, life must change,_

_Though I'll keep the precious memories_

_Forever in my heart of hearts._

_All the things unsaid_

_Will stay unsaid_

_Save this, only one, which I say now:_

_Eternity cannot bind the way I feel._

_And when everything has been and gone,_

_You are my October Ice until my life is done._

…………………

_I love you, Atobe Keigo. Goodbye._

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Sandy: Well, what can I say?

Leave me a review, please? Please? n.n I'm sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out, but you have no idea how hard it was to write this. -Wipes away a dramatic tear- So please, take a minute of your life to let me know that it wasn't a waste of effort. :o

Until next time!


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